The Dassault Etendard & Super Etendard

v1.0.4 / 01 may 14 / greg goebel / public domain

* For over 40 years, one the mainstays of the Aeronavale, the French Navy's
air arm, has been the Dassault "Etendard" and "Super Etendard" carrier-based
single-seat strike fighters. This document provides a history and
description of the Etendard and Super Etendard.

* In 1953, NATO issued a requirement designated "NATO Basic Military
Requirement 1 (NBMR-1)" for a "light weight tactical strike fighter (LWTSF)"
that would be fitted with four 12.7 (0.50 caliber) millimeter Browning
machine guns, would be easy to maintain in austere conditions, and could
operate from unimproved front-line airfields. The Armee de l'Air (AA), the
French air force, had a requirement along much the same lines, but wanted a
twin-engine configuration and armament of twin DEFA 30 millimeter
revolver-type cannon.

Officials of the French Dassault aircraft firm decided to design an aircraft
for each requirement, with the two types sharing common features and
technology. The single-engine machine for the NATO requirement was
originally designated the "Mystere XXVI", though it soon became the "Etendard
VI", where "Etendard" means "Standard", in the sense of a battle flag. The
twin-engine machine for the AA requirement was originally designated the
"Mystere XXII", though it was then renamed the "Etendard II".

* Three prototypes for the single-engine Etendard VI were ordered in July
1955, with the first performing its initial flight on 15 March 1957. It was
a neat little aircraft, with a fuselage like that of Dassault's new Mirage I
tailless delta-winged fighter, the direct ancestor of the popular Mirage III
-- but with conventional dogtoothed swept wings like those of the Dassault
Super Mystere fighter and a swept tail assembly. The Etendard VI had
tricycle landing gear, all assemblies with single wheels, the nose wheel
retracting backward and the main gear hinging from the wings towards the
fuselage.

The Etendard VI was initially powered by Bristol Siddeley Orpheus BOr.1
turbojet with 16.7 kN (1,700 kgp / 3,750 lbf) thrust, but the aircraft proved
underpowered and so it was refitted with an uprated BOr.3 engine with 21.6 kN
(2,200 kgp / 4,850 lbf) thrust. The second Etendard VI prototype, which
featured the BOr.3 engine from the outset, performed its initial flight on 14
September 1957. It featured larger intakes to provide more airflow for the
BOr.3 engine, and had internal armament of twin 30 millimeter DEFA cannon.

Both Etendard VI prototypes went through the trials for the NBMR-1
specification, but the competition was won by the Italian Fiat G.91 light
strike fighter. The third Etendard VI prototype was not built. It was to
have an "area-ruled" fuselage -- in which changes to the aircraft
cross-section were minimized to improve transonic handling, resulting in a
"wasp waisted" appearance -- and a further uprated BOr.12 engine, with
provision for afterburning.

* Three prototypes of the Etendard II were ordered as well, with the first
performing its initial flight on 23 July 1956, well before the first flight
of the Etendard VI, with Paul Bourdier at the controls. The Etendard II
looked much like the Etendard VI, except for a wider fuselage to accommodate
twin Turbomeca Gabizo turbojets, with 9.2 kN (940 kgp / 2,070 lbf) thrust
each, and with no wing dogtooth. The Etendard II was slightly larger than
the Etendard VI, with a length of 12.89 meters (42 feet 4 inches), a span of
8.74 meters (28 feet 8 inches), and an empty weight of 4,120 kilograms (9,280
pounds).

Armament was to be twin 30 millimeter DEFA cannon in a pack that could be
swapped out with a pack for 32 Matra 68 millimeter unguided rockets. Not
surprisingly, given greater weight than the Etendard VI but substantially
less engine thrust, the Etendard II was badly underpowered. This deficiency
was in principle to be addressed with an improved Gabizo with afterburning,
but the engine program foundered. Other engine fits were considered, but the
Etendard II was judged unpromising and canceled in November 1956. The
second and third prototypes were never built.

* Although the Etendard VI and II were dead ends, Dassault was energetic in
pursuing the general design concept, using company funds to develop something
along the lines of a scaled-up Etendard VI and designated the "Etendard IV".
Initial flight of the single prototype was on 24 July 1956, with Georges
Brian at the controls.

The Etendard IV had very much the same general configuration as the Etendard
VI but was well bigger, with an empty weight about a third greater. The
Etendard IV was powered by a single SNECMA Atar 101E-4 turbojet with 33.4 kN
(3,400 kgp / 7,495 lbf) thrust. It had internal armament of twin 30
millimeter DEFA cannon.

Dassault promoted a set of different variants of the Etendard IV, including a
tandem-seat trainer, a tactical reconnaissance machine, and a multirole
carrier-based fighter. The AA wasn't interested, but the Aeronavale, the
French naval air arm, was intrigued and ordered a semi-navalized prototype of
the Etendard IV in December 1956, followed by an order for a batch of five
fully-navalized preproduction machines as the "Etendard IVM" -- where "M"
stood for "Marine" -- in May 1957.

The two Etendard VI prototypes were put to work evaluating technology for the
Etendard IVM. The prototype Etendard IVM performed its initial flight on 21
May 1958, with the first preproduction aircraft following on 21 December
1958. Both machines were powered by the SNECMA Atar 08B turbojet, providing
43.2 kN (4,400 kgp / 9,700 lbf) thrust; the Atar was not fitted with an
afterburner, though it did have a two-piece "eyelid"-type variable exhaust.
The second preproduction machine was fitted with Rolls-Royce Avon 51 turbojet
with 49.8 kN (5,080 kgp / 11,200 lbf) thrust and was configured for "boundary
layer control" or "flap blowing", with engine air bleed driven over the top
of the flaps to keep them effective at low airspeeds. This machine was
designated the "Etendard IVB", but the configuration was not adopted for
production.

The Etendard IVM went into formal service with the Aeronavale in 1961, with
69 machines being delivered into 1965, the aircraft serving on the carriers
CLEMENCEAU and FOCH. A sixth preproduction machine was ordered in 1959, this
aircraft being configured as a photo-reconnaissance platform. It performed
its first flight on 18 November 1960, with Jean-Marie Saget at the controls,
and was put into service as the "Etendard IVP". 21 Etendard IVPs were built
in parallel with Etendard IVM production.

* As mentioned, the Etendard IVM looked like a scaled-up Etendard VI, with an
area-ruled fuselage and all-swept flight surfaces, the low-mounted wing
featuring a leading-edge dogtooth and the tailplane mid-mounted on the
tailfin; side-mounted engine intakes; and tricycle landing gear like that of
the Etendard VI. The intakes were of fixed dee type with short "splitter
plates" forward to prevent ingestion of stagnant "boundary layer" air found
next to the fuselage; there were spring-loaded intake relief doors back on
the engine nacelles to provide additional airflow for takeoffs and the like.

The powerplant was the Atar 08C, generally like the Atar 08B but with a
self-starter system instead of an externally driven compressed-air starter
system. Internal armament was twin DEFA 30 millimeter revolver cannon, with
the cannon mounted underneath the engine intakes and provided with 125 rounds
of ammunition each.

Navalizations included a catapult cable attachment hook under the forward
corner of each wing, long-stroke landing gear with an extensible nosewheel to
raise the angle of attack for launchings, a yoke-style arresting hook, and
folding wingtips. There were leading-edge flaps on the wings out to the
wingfold, with double slotted flaps in the rear along with ailerons; the
ailerons were also inboard of the wingfold. There were perforated spoilers
on top of the wing outboard of the wingfold. The tailplane was "all moving"
but had elevators as well.

The wing had twin spars and a leading-edge sweep of 45 degrees. The
ailerons, tailplane, and rudder were hydraulically actuated. There were twin
perforated, hydraulically operated airbrakes on the belly near the leading
edge of the wingroots, and there was a brake parachute fairing on the back of
the tailfin where it intersected the tailplane, the parachute of course being
used only on ground landings.

The Etendard IVM featured fuel tanks in the fuselage and wings, with a total
internal fuel load of 3,300 liters (871 US gallons). There were two stores
pylons under each wing and a pylon under the forward fuselage, for a total of
five pylons. The inner wing pylons were "wet" for carriage of 625 liter (165
US gallon) external fuel tanks. Given that the Etendard IV's range was
unspectacular, twin fuel tanks were normal kit. Each outer pylon could carry
a munition, for a total of two, with typical stores including:

US-built Sidewinders (or later French Matra Magics) heatseeking AAMs.

Matra 18-round 68-millimeter unguided rocket pods.

250 kilogram (550 pound) or 400 kilogram (880 pound) bombs.

The Nord AS.30 radio-guided air-to-surface missile for ground or antiship
attack, with the radio command guidance link antenna fitted to a
distinctive fin under the nose. The pilot guided the weapon by "eyeball",
with a flare on the missile's tail to keep it visible and the pilot
steering by joystick. Some sources claim the fin was also to improve yaw
stability. The similar but smaller AS.20 missile could also be carried,
but it was generally used as a training store.

Total external stores load was 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds).

The Etendard IVM featured a retractable inflight refueling probe on the top
of the nose. Some pictures of Etendard IVMs do not show the refueling probe
fixture; these may have been developmental aircraft. The pilot sat under a
rear-hinged clamshell canopy on a British Martin-Baker Mark 4 lightweight
ejection seat, license-built by Hispano in France. The cockpit was
pressurized, air conditioned, and protected by armor. A simple Dassault Aida
7 navigation radar was carried in the nose, and the aircraft was also fitted
with a Swedish SAAB BT9F bombing computer.

* The Etendard IVP was similar to the Etendard IVM, but the cannon were
deleted, with the payload consisting of three film cameras in a modified nose
-- one camera staring forward and one staring to each side -- plus a
removeable belly camera pack with two cameras. All the cameras were built by
the French OMERA organization. The Etendard IVP carried flares or flash
bomblets for night photography.

The belly camera pack could be removed and a US Douglas-built tanker pod
fitted in its place on a centerline pylon, with the tanker pod pump driven by
prominent spinner on the pod's nose. Later production Etendard IVMs could
also carry the tanker pod. In principle, the centerline pylon could also
carry a bulbous 600 liter (158 US gallon) external tank that looked much like
the tanker pod without the spinner, but few pictures seem to show the
centerline pylon being used for anything but the tanker pod.

The Etendard IVP featured a fixed inflight refueling probe on the nose. As
with the Etendard IVM, some pictures do not show the probe; and this may have
been the single developmental aircraft.

* Attrition of the modest number of Etendard IVPs through the 1960s and 1970s
meant that the Aeronavale ended up running low on reconnaissance assets, and
so in 1977 the decision was made to convert four Etendard IVMs into
reconnaissance machines. The conversions were delivered in 1978 and 1979.
The upgraded machines were very difficult to distinguish from production
Etendard IVPs, though they featured very slight detail differences.

A modernization program was implemented from 1989 into 1994 that fitted the
Etendard IVP with an updated inertial navigation system (INS), a cockpit
instrumentation update, and a DRAX 16 radar warning receiver (RWR). The RWR
featured spikelike antenna fairings on the upper front and lower rear of the
tailfin, with a flush antenna on each side of the tailfin. The aircraft was
also wired for the Matra Magic II AAM. The updated machines were designated
"Etendard IVPM", with the "M" standing for "Modernization". (Confusingly,
some sources claim the IVPM label only applied to the four Etendard IVMs
updated to Etendard IVP spec.) Etendard IVPMs often carried pylon-mounted
countermeasures gear, such as an LC III or Phimat chaff dispenser, and a
Barracuda jammer.

* In service, the Etendard IVM/IVP was usually painted dark gray-blue on top
and white on the bottom. The Etendard IVM saw little or no combat action,
the Aeronavale not being involved in much active fighting during the
aircraft's lifetime. The type was phased out in favor of its improved
successor, the Super Etendard (discussed below) beginning in the late 1970s,
with some lingering in service into 1991 as land-based operational trainers.

The Etendard IVP/PM a much livelier combat history, flying reconnaissance
missions over Middle Eastern combat zones from the 1970s and over the former
Yugoslavia in the 1990s. In later service, the Etendard IVP/PM was painted
in a two-tone disruptive pattern of medium and light gray-blue. The Etendard
IVP/PM was finally retired from operational service in July 2000 after
decades of useful service, to be replaced by reconnaissance-configured Super
Etendards.

* The Etendard IVM was beginning to appear behind the times in the late
1960s, and so the Aeronavale started to cast around for a replacement. There
were a number of good candidates, a prominent one being the US Vought A-7
strike fighter; the Aeronavale was an enthusiastic operator of the A-7's
cousin, the Vought F-8 Crusader, and the admirals had no strong reason to
turn up their noses at the A-7 simply because it was made in the USA. They
also had a partly French-built candidate, a navalized version of the
Anglo-French SEPECAT Jaguar, the "Jaguar M".

However, although Vought and SEPECAT had excellent products, and some sources
claim that the Aeronavale was leaning towards the A-7, it seems that Dassault
had superb salesmen who gave a pitch that was unarguably hard to turn down on
the face of it: why not just update the Etendard IVM? The improved version
would be "90% compatible", making it a cheap solution, and it would be an
all-French product as well. What wasn't to like? The "Super Etendard", as
it was known, won the competition in January 1973.

* Three Etendard IVMs were used as developmental aircraft in the program,
with the first true prototype performing its initial flight on 3 October
1975. The first production machine performed its initial flight on 24
November 1977, with the first deliveries of what would turn out to be a total
of 71 Super Etendards to the Aeronavale the next year.

One of the major changes in the Super Etendard, or "SuE" as it was called,
was fit of the improved SNECMA Atar 8K50 non-afterburning turbojet, with a
maximum thrust of 49.0 kN (5,000 kgp / 11,025 lbf). It was also supposed to
have better specific fuel consumption, but it seems it was little or no
improvement in that regard. Internal fuel capacity was increased to 3,270
liters (845 US gallons) in some compensation. The Atar 8K50 was derived from
the 9K50 turbojet used on the Dassault Mirage F1, with corrosion protection
added and the afterburner removed. It had a fixed exhaust nozzle, unlike the
"eyelid" nozzle of the Atar 08B fitted to the Etendard IVM. Bigger engine
intakes were fitted to the SuE to provide adequate airflow to the uprated
engine.

Another major change was fit of an updated avionics suite, including:

A Thomson-CSF Agave I radar in the nose. The Agave was a multimode radar,
with navigation and air combat capabilities, but optimized for maritime
strike. It was fitted in a relatively prominent, slightly drooping nose
radome that provided an instant recognition feature relative to the
Etendard IVM.

A SAGEM-Kearfott ETNA navigation-attack system, which integrated an INS, a
Thomson-CSF head-up display (HUD), a navigation display, an armament
control system, a radio altimeter, and a TACAN beacon navigation system.
(Antennas for the comparable civilian VOR beacon navigation system were
also fitted to each side of the tailfin.) ETNA would be aligned before
takeoff from a carrier and was accurate to within 2.2 kilometers (1.4
miles) per flight-hour -- enough to get the aircraft within range of TACAN
at the end of a mission.

A Thomson-CSF BF RWR, with the antennas in the tailfin as per the
Etendard IVPM.

The third major change was fit of a new wing to compensate for increased
takeoff weight. The wing looked much like the old, but featured leading-edge
wingroot extensions, with a slightly enhanced sweep; leading-edge flaps
running all the way to the wingtip, instead of out to the wingtip fold as
with the Etendard IV; and double slotted flaps with greater droop.

* Outside of these changes, the Super Etendard was very much like the
Etendard IVM, with four underwing pylons and a centerline pylon; twin DEFA
cannon; a retractable inflight refueling probe on top of the nose; and so on.
In fact, if it weren't for the different nose, it would be difficult to tell
the Etendard IVM and Super Etendard apart. However, the notion that the
Super Etendard was going to be "90% compatible" with the Etendard IVM was
replaced by the reality that the two were closer to "90% different", and the
supposed cost benefits didn't materialize. The Aeronavale had wanted 100
Super Etendards, but cost escalation reduced the quantity to the 71 mentioned
above. For the same money, the Aeronavale could have obtained more aircraft
with greater warload capability and radius of action.

That said, the Super Etendard was effectively state-of-the-art in terms of
its technical sophistication, in particular providing a platform for carriage
and launch of the Aerospatiale AM39 Exocet solid-fuel antiship missile, with
the Agave radar providing targeting. The usual flight configuration for the
antiship attack mission was an Exocet on the inner pylon of one wing and an
external tank under the inner pylon of the other, with AAMs or defensive aids
optionally carried on the outer pylons. The empty external tank was dropped
before missile launch to maintain trim.

In the early 1980s, most of the Super Etendard fleet was updated to support
the nuclear strike mission, with the flight configuration much like that used
for the Exocet -- a nuclear store on one inner pylon, an external tank on the
other, and optionally AAMs (usually the Matra Magic) or defensive aids on the
outer pylons. Nuclear stores included the AN52 tactical nuclear free-fall
bomb, with a yield of about 15 kilotonnes; or the ramjet-powered "Air-Sol
Moyenne Portee (ASMP)" missile, with a yield of over 100 kilotonnes, a speed
in the range of Mach 2 to Mach 3 depending on altitude, and a standoff range
of about 100 kilometers (60 miles). Carriage of the Exocet or ASMP required
removal of the 30 millimeter cannon to make room for "black boxes".

Of course, conventional stores like those carried by the Etendard IVM could
also be employed, such as dumb bombs and unguided rocket pods, with a
munition on each outer pylon and an external tank on each inner pylon.

A bigger external tank, with a capacity of 1,100 liters (290 US gallons), was
introduced for the Super Etendard, taking advantage of the SuE's greater
carriage capacity. However, a pair of the big tanks was too heavy if a full
combat load was also being carried, and in that case the old 625 liter tanks
were fitted instead. Since an Exocet strike configuration included only one
tank, the 1,100 liter tank was usually carried for that mission. The Super
Etendard could also carry the old 600 liter centerline tank, though again it
is unusual to find pictures with it fitted. Of course, the old Douglas
tanker pod could be carried as well.

Maximum external load with full internal fuel was 2,100 kilograms (4,360
pounds). Initially colors were the same as for the earlier Aeronavale
Etendards -- dark gray-blue on top, white on bottom -- but were later changed
to the overall two-tone gray-blue disruptive pattern also given to the
Etendard IVP/PM.

* Although the Etendard IVM never got involved in serious fighting, the Super
Etendard quickly found itself in combat. On 22 September 1983, Super
Etendards operating in support of French peacekeeping forces in Lebanon
performed airstrikes against gun emplacements of the Lebanese Druze militia.

More was to come. Argentina was the only foreign country to buy the Super
Etendard, ordering 14 machines in 1981, with five delivered, along with five
Exocet missiles, by the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982; the French
then suspended deliveries. On 4 May 1982, Argentine Super Etendards launched
two Exocets, damaging the British destroyer HMS SHEFFIELD badly enough that
it had to be scuttled, and then fired two more Exocets against the container
ship ATLANTIC CONVEYOR on 25 May 1982, with the same result. These successes
were among the few enjoyed by the Argentines during the conflict.

The last Argentine Exocet was expended without result on 30 May 1982.
Deliveries of Super Etendards from France resumed after the end of the war.
Argentine Super Etendards carried the locally-built Pescador missile, a
radio-guided weapon somewhat along the lines of the old US Bullpup-A. At
last notice, the surviving Argentine SuEs were still in service.

Iraq also operated Super Etendards during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s,
though the Iraqis never bought them. Saddam Hussein had purchased Exocets
from France but didn't have an adequate launch platform for them, and so the
French agreeably loaned him five Aeronavale Super Etendards in secret in 1983
as a stopgap until the Iraqis obtained Exocet-configured Dassault Mirage F1s
in 1985. The Iraqi Super Etendards went into combat in 1984 and performed
dozens of attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf during their stint in the
conflict. One SuE was lost in the fighting.

* In the late 1980s, a series of enhancements were implemented for the Super
Etendard, resulting in the "Super Etendard Modernise (SEM)". The initial SEM
configuration, known as "Standard 2" -- the original Super Etendard of course
being "Standard 1" -- involved modification of the cockpit layout, the new
scheme being built around a modern HUD, and fit of the Thomson-CSF (now
Thales) Anemone radar in place of the old Agave radar. The Anemone provided
about twice the range of the Agave and had an enhanced set of modes,
including more air-to-air modes. First flight of a Standard 2 SEM was in
October 1990, with initial service delivery in June 1993.

The Standard 2 was quickly followed by the "Standard 3" SEM, which introduced
carriage of the ATLIS laser targeting pod on the centerline station. Once
again, the cannon had to be removed to accommodate black boxes when ATLIS was
carried. ATLIS was a daylight targeting pod with a TV camera featuring
2.5/5/10/20 magnification zoom boresighted to a laser, and the ability to
automatically track a target after being locked -- a useful feature when
employed with a single-seat aircraft like the Super Etendard.

When carrying an ATLIS pod, a SEM could perform precision targeting for an
AS-30L missile -- a laser-guided derivative of the old radio-guided AS-30 --
or laser-guided bombs (LGBs). For some obscure reason the Standard 3 SEM
could not designate its own LGBs; it could only be used for "buddy lasing" of
such weapons, with a SEM targeting LGBs for another strike aircraft.

The "Standard 4" SEM was a big step forward, featuring:

An updated countermeasures suite, most significantly including a
state-of-the-art Thales Sherloc RWR with rectangular antennas on the front
and back of the tailfin, replacing the "spike" antennas of the old BF RWR.

Since pylon-mounted external defensive countermeasures pods are usually
relatively lightweight, a new stores pylon was added to each wing inboard
of the existing stores pylons, just forward of the extended main landing
gear, solely for countermeasures pods -- such as the Barracuda NG (New
Generation) RF jammer and the Alkan LL5081 chaff-flare dispenser. The
Alkan LL5081 had a capacity of 90 40 millimeter cartridges or 40 60
millimeter cartridges. Most significantly, the entire countermeasures
system was integrated to permit automatic operation of a jammer or flare
dispenser pod when the RWR identified a threat.

Carriage of the CRM280 centerline reconnaissance module, where CRM stood
for "Chassis de Reconnaissance Marine / Marine Reconnaissance Module)".
The CRM included an AP40 panoramic camera and an SDS250 electro-optic imager,
where "SDS" stood more or less for "Short Distance Sensor". The AP40 was
a wet-film camera, capable of using grayscale or color film, and was
mounted vertically. The SDS250 could be adjusted to observe vertically or
22 degrees, 30 degrees, or 60 degrees to either side. The data obtained
by the SDS250 was dumped to magnetic tape. SDS250 imagery also came up on
the pilot's HUD, allowing him to monitor the reconnaissance system. The
pilot had a simple "viewfinder" for the reconnaissance system on each side
of the cockpit.

The capability to self-designate LGBs.

All SEMs were up to Standard 4 by the end of 2002, with the "Standard 5"
introduced the next year. Standard 5 was intended to provide a "night
attack" capability, built around the new Damocles targeting pod. The
Damocles not only used an infrared imager, permitting night operations, but
also had higher image resolution, permitting greater standoff range.

The Standard 5 SEM cockpit was modified with lighting compatible with night
vision goggles (NVGs). Aeronavale pilots trained for NVG flight operations
were called "Hiboux (Owls)" and wore owl patches. Another major innovation
with the Standard 5 SEM was the PCN90 flight computer and the associated
UNI40 INS with a Global Position System (GPS) satellite receiver subsystem.
The PCN90/UNI140 system allowed up to 63 navigation waypoints to be
preprogrammed before a mission.

Weapons loads included the Exocet, the ASMP, the AS-30L, LGBs, and the Matra
Magic II AAM. The SEM didn't carry the classic SNEB 68 millimeter unguided
rocket pod; it was retired since the pilot had to fly straight in towards the
target and the rocket's short range brought the aircraft too close to
adversary defenses. It should be noted that when operating from a carrier,
weapons like the Exocet and AS-30L were too heavy for landings and had to be
discarded if they weren't otherwise expended. From 2009, Argentine Super
Etendards were run through an update program, presumably to bring them up to
something like Standard 5 SEM.

* The Aeronavale's SEMs saw combat action during the Balkan Wars in the late
1990s and in the invasion of Afghanistan in 2002. The SEM is now being
replaced by the far more capable Dassault Rafale M multirole shipboard
fighter, and will be out of service by 2015.

Etendard IVM: Navalized derivative of Etendard IV for the Aeronavale,
with twin DEFA cannon, Atar 08C engine, and retractable nose probe. A
single prototype and four preproduction machines were built, followed by
69 production machines, for a total of 74 aircraft. The two Etendard VI
prototypes were also used in Etendard IVM development.

Etendard IVB: Much like the four Etendard IVM preproduction machines but
with a Rolls-Royce Avon 51 turbojet and "blown flaps". One built.

Etendard IVP: Reconnaissance variant of Etendard IVM, generally similar
but with DEFA cannon deleted, three cameras in the nose, two cameras in a
belly fairing, and fixed inflight refueling probe. One preproduction
machine was followed by 21 production machines, for a total of 22
aircraft. Four Etendard IVMs were also converted to Etendard IVP spec in
the late 1970s.

Super Etendard: Greatly revised Etendard IVM, with Atar 8K50 engine, new
wing, and updated avionics including Agave radar. A single full prototype
was built, followed by 71 production machines for the Aeronavale and 14
for the Argentine Navy, for a total of 86 machines. Three Etendard IVMs
were also modified for the development program.

Super Etendard Modernise: Updated Super Etendards, upgraded consecutively
through four "Standards" to provide such features as improved avionics,
including Anemone radar and a new RWR; carriage of ATLIS and the later
Damocles laser targeting pod; fit of a CRM280 belly reconnaissance pod
with a panoramic film camera and steerable EO imager; and new light stores
pylons for countermeasures pods, linked into an integrated countermeasures
system.

Total production of the Etendard / Super Etendard series was 188 aircraft,
including prototypes.

* The Etendard / Super Etendard was the last of the Dassault combat jets for
me to write up, and as far as I was concerned the least interesting of the
lot. The Super Etendard does come across as a fairly capable aircraft, but
it seems the Aeronavale could have obtained a better one. It's hard to judge
the Super Etendard as a bad machine -- just a not a particularly impressive
one. The Aeronavale appears to have been happy enough with it, but I would
think that Aeronavale pilots are really excited about moving up to the
ultra-modern Rafale M.

It was a bit tricky to get some of the details on the Etendard IVM/P, since
most sources tend to focus on the Super Etendard and give short shrift to the
original members of the family. I had to examine photographs to figure out
some items, and there were a few things I couldn't nail down.

* Sources include:

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF FIGHTERS by William Green & Gordon Swanborough,
Salamander Books, 1994.

THE WEST'S MODERN FIGHTERS by Doug Richardson, Military Press, 1984.

"The Aeronavale Spearhead" by Pierre-Henri Grolleau, AIR INTERNATIONAL,
January 2003, 38:45.

Useful materials on the somewhat obscure Etendard IVM/P were obtained from
the "French Fleet Air Arm" website in France, which considerately provides
English translations of the pages, as well as from a JANE'S from 1960.